Rational Optimism (Build Something Big)
"Don't partner with cynics and pessimists their beliefs are self-fulfilling"
Essentially to create things you have to be a rational optimist
Rational in the sense that you have to really see the world for what it really is
And yet you have to be optimistic about your own capabilities
And your capability to get things done
We all know people who are consistently pessimistic
Who will shoot down everything
Everyone in their life was like the helpful critical guy
Right
He thinks he's being helpful but he's actually being critical and he's a downer on everything
That person will not only never do anything great in their lives
They'll prevent other people around them from doing something great
They think their job is to shoot holes in things
And it's OK to shoot holes and things as long as you come up with a solution
There is also the classic military line “either lead, follow or get out of the way.”
These people want a fourth option
But they don't want to lead
They don't want to follow
But they don't want to get out the way
They want to tell you why the things not going to work
And all the really successful people I know have a very strong action bias
They just do things
The easiest way to figure out if something is viable or not is by doing it
So, if you want to be successful in life creating wealth or having good relationships
Or even being happy
You need to have an action bias towards getting what you want
And you have to be optimistic about it
You got one life on this planet
Why not try to build something big
You got one life on this planet why not try to build something big
This is the beauty of Elon Musk
And why I think he inspires so many people
He takes on really-really big audacious tasks
And he provides an example for people to think big
Think big
And it takes a lot of work to build even small things
I don't think the corner grocery store owner is working any less hard than Elon Musk
Or pouring any less sweat and toil into it
Maybe even more
But for whatever reason you know education circumstance they didn’t get the chance to think as big
So, the outcome is not as big
So, its just better to think
Obviously rationally within means, stay optimistic
The cynics and the pessimist
What they’re really saying
They’re basically saying I've given up
I don't think I can do anything
And so, the world to me
Looks like a world where nobody can do anything
And so why should you go do something
Because if you fail
Then I’m right which is great
But if you succeed it just makes me look bad
You got one life on this planet why not try to build something big
You got one life on this planet why not try to build something big
This is the beauty of Elon Musk
I’d rather be optimistic and wrong
Than pessimistic and right
Than pessimistic and right
I’d rather be optimistic and wrong
Than pessimistic and right
Than pessimistic and right
Than pessimistic and right
There is a completely rational frame
On why you should be an optimist
Historically if you go back 2,000 years
5000 years 10,000 years
Two people run into the jungle they hear a Tiger
One's an optimist who said, “Oh it's not headed our way.”
The other one says “I'm the pessimist I'm out of here”
And the pessimist runs and survive
And the optimist gets eaten
So, we're descended from pessimists
We're genetically hardwired to be pessimists
But modern society is far-far safer
There are no tigers wandering down the street
It's very unlikely that you will end up in total ruin
Although you should avoid total ruin
You’re much more likely
The upside is unlimited than the downside is limited
Adapting for modern society means overriding your pessimism
And taking slightly irrationally optimistic bets
Because the upside is unlimited
If you start the next SpaceX, Tesla or Uber
You can make billions of dollars of value for society
And for yourself
And change the world
And if you fail what's a big deal
You lost a few million dollars in investor money
And they've got plenty more and that's the bet they take
On the chances that you will succeed
It makes sense to be pessimistic in the past
It makes sense to be optimistic today especially if you're educated and living in a first world country
The one thing you have to avoid is the risk of ruin
Ruin means to stay out of jail
So, don't do anything that's illegal
Stay out of total catastrophic loss
Stay out of things that can be physically dangerous
Hurting your body
You have to watch your health
And stay out of things that can cause you to lose all of your capital all of your savings
So, don’t gamble everything at one go
You take rationally optimistic bets with big upside
You got one life on this planet why not try to build something big
You got one life on this planet why not try to build something big
You got one life on this planet why not try to build something big
You got one life on this planet why not try to build something big
This is the beauty of Elon Musk
I’d rather be optimistic and wrong
Than pessimistic and right
Than pessimistic and right
I’d rather be optimistic and wrong
Than pessimistic and right
Than pessimistic and right
Than pessimistic and right
Silicons Valley has learned
The upside is so great that you never look down on the sloppy kid who is wearing a hoody
And has coffee at his shoes
And look like a slob
Because you don't know if he's gonna be the next Mark Zuckerberg
Or Reid Hoffman
You’ve got to treat everybody with respect
You gotta look up to every possibility and opportunity
Because the upside is sol unlimited and the downside is so limited in the modern world